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Johnny English Reborn re-joins our titular hero, as played by Rowan Atkinson, as he is called back into service as an agent to MI:7, the films not-so-subtle secret service substitute, in order to deal with the threat of an assassination of the Chinese Premier. He must track down the killer and stop them. It's about as simple as plots can get, and even the inevitable turns the plot will take are tired and predictable. Hints at a deeper turn the film might take just tread what I find to be worn ground. Though really, it's a comedy action film, and generally aimed towards a younger audience anyway, so what's the harm in a little bad story if it lets the chance for jokes fill up the rest of the time? Except the rest of the time is mostly dead air as opposed to jokes, and I think it's partly down to dear old English himself. A lot of the comedy in the original came from the fact that English was completely incompetent on about every level but luck, and it was only by virtue of his sidekick that he got through at all. Somewhere along the timeline English gained quite a lot of competence, but kept a lot of the idiocy. Not enough to make the moment's funny, but enough to make the audience mesmerised by the sheer stupidity he exerts. His new sidekick Tucker, played by Daniel Kaluuya, is now the new incompetent one, but it's not usually played for laughs. Aside from a few moments that I found genuinely funny, the film is mostly dead in the water, with flat and predictable jokes throughout. One rooftop chase scene which has Atkinson going after a suspect making his escape by use of parkour reminded me of Casino Royale, and shocked me to find that it was funnier in Bond than it was in a parody of Bond. It's rarely funny, and never delivers truly big laughs. I think that's rather a big failing in what is primarily a comedy. But it is a flipside of comedy and action that makes up an action-comedy such as this, so how does it fare in that department? Action sequences aren't helped by generally underwhelming cinematography that just don't give the sense that anything of significance is even happening. Action sequences are mostly forgettable. Though what I saw was a pre-screening and a lot of the special effects weren't properly implemented yet, I doubt even the added layer of improved effects will bolster the generally poor show in action. Strangely, the best moments in action (there are some competent points, just not a lot of them) also coincide with some of the better moments in comedy. I suppose script writers just have better days sometimes. If that's true of script writers, then I guess I can say the same for actors. For the most part, however, the acting is just one long bad day. Pretty much anyone who isn't Atkinson or Kaluuya deliver sub-par performances, which only becomes more apparent when you compare them against what Atkinson is actually churning out. His acting is as good as it ever has been, only held back by the script, but when allowed to show off his timing, facial expressions and physical comedy like only he knows how, it becomes a joy to watch. One particular Evil Dead-esque scene with hand vs hand combat is excellent for showing that his ability to perform is still intact. These moments are few and far between, however, and the only other reasonable performance comes from Kaluuya who comes off as likable, at least. Everyone else is rather dull, with relationships between characters coming off as forced and the performances just being generally badly done. So, I'd say that comes off as a reasonably damning review. A poor story supported by a generally weak, predictable and tired sense of humour, underwhelming and forgettable action for the most part and a cast full of half-rate performances. The only saviors of this film are the very occasional sequences in which Atkinson more or less just steals the screen, though the moments are hardly fantastic. These brief glimpses into what could have been don't justify the existence of this movie. Unless there are major changes by the time this film hits the cinemas, and I don't mean the inclusion of special effects, this film won't be worth the price of admission. This didn't need to be made, and they should have just stuck with the one Johnny English. Somehow, I doubt we'll be seeing any more in the future. Or maybe I'm just hoping we won't.
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Have you got balls?!by zainmufc7,542 views
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